And the verdict is...

...a BOY! And, boy, was I mistaken about this little guy. I was certain he was a girl. My morning sickness theory (that bad morning sickness means girl) has been blown to pieces. We're all delighted :) He performed for us on the ultrasound, yawning twice in full view and looking at us head on. We're already in love.  David: "Now I'll have a boy-friend! I'll show him my toys and he'll slobber on them." Yes, indeed, little guy.

Beautiful sunny snow day

A wee eskimo emerges.

Fat cheeks come in handy in sub-zero weather.

The long, slow shoveling. Dave's fitbit had an impressive reading at the end of the day.

Taking a walk up the road to survey the neighborhood. 

Another cute little Inuit.

Inside the igloo!

A chipmunk popping out from his hole.

Just chillin' in the igloo, literally.

The storm has come, the storm has gone. We are now left with the wreckage, which takes the form of huge drifts and embankments that cut wide streets down to tiny arteries. Our 20 week sonogram was scheduled for this morning, but the doctor's office was closed, along with everything else in the D.C. metro area it seems. No school today or tomorrow. We're planning for a Wednesday sonogram re-schedule, so stay tuned!

Snow!

David testing out the head-flashlight the night the storm started. 

Late night snow fun.

Not good...after one afternoon of shoveling.

Waking up to an impressive winter wonderland...every child's dream, right?

Before...

...after. As I write, only the tip of her head is sticking out.

Snow fare.

Packing down the igloo before hollowing it out.

David with exuberance: "I slid into thorns Mommy!"

Saying good-bye to our neighbors who visited during the storm.

This igloo is 4 ft. high and 6 ft. in diameter...inside! Someone could live in this thing.


The snow is still coming down strong, and we have over two feet. The wind picked up today, making it much more of a "white-out" experience when you look out the window. All day we've watched deer down the gully in our back yard pawing out holes for themselves and sitting in them, poor things. They look like big dogs curled up down there. So thankful for no power outages and our cozy, warm house with big windows to see all the action. Hoping everyone's able to enjoy this epic storm!

This and that

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe we're well into January, with a snow storm looming around the corner. We celebrated Dave's 33rd birthday on the 14th, and continued the celebration over the weekend with a fun visit from Lolo and Lola and by seeing Star Wars up close. By up close I mean in the front row, looking directly up, because we managed to get there a little late and the theater was full except for the front row. I will say that since it was less of a visual experience I was forced to actually concentrate on the plot and scenes more than I would have. I would rate it a solid "good".

David got his first barbershop haircut. Dave said the woman not only shaved his little neck stubble with shaving cream and a flat-edged razor, but she also wrapped our little guy's head with a hot towel and massaged his neck. Oh to have been there. David seems only to remember that she gave him a mint.

In the kitchen, we've been having fun with Jeff and Kate's Christmas present: a sous-vide cooker and a vacuum sealer (see sous-vide carrots above). Thanks guys!

Off to read books to the littles. I'll post an update Monday when we find out the gender of baby Cook at my 20 week sonogram.  Any predictions? I can take bets...

The trees (and a quasi-announcement)

Not a great picture, but gives you a sense of the tree out front. The little white orb close to the top is a work in progress, according to Dave. Getting it closer to the top will take Herculean strength, but all in the name of perfection, right?

Loving the tree in this space, not to mention the pine scent, which seems to be morning sickness-friendly. I guess I haven't officially announced I'm pregnant on the blog yet, so here it is! Baby Cook is due June 10th.  Likely everyone reading this already knows, but just in case there's someone who doesn't.  We're counting down to week 16, when the nausea usually abates for me. In an effort not to waste suffering, though, let me know your prayer intentions and I'll keep them in mind over the toilet bowl!

Giving thanks

We're thanking God for another year filled with his blessings. We celebrated by frying a turkey for the first time. No explosions, and a tasty bird: success! The back-up roasted one (in case of catastrophe) was equally delicious. Aunt Hilary's pies were a hit, especially the pumpkin ginger crunch and coconut cream. And we may have started a new tradition with collard-green dolmades. 

We seem to have begun a yearly tradition of buying our "Advent tree" (which we've renamed to keep our heads on straight that it's not Christmas yet) the day after Thanksgiving. It fits beautifully in our new space. Dave and Lolo spent the rest of the day stringing the huge evergreen tree in our front yard with LED lights. It now stands as a neighborhood beacon, and the spectacle of Dave scaling this mammoth of a tree from within attracted several neighbors. One neighbor, a history buff, informed us that a Civil War skirmish took place in our back yard. Lo and behold, there was indeed a historical event called "Action at Annandale" that took place on the land behind our house, part of which we own. Dave can't wait until next Halloween scare the girls with stories about the ghosts lingering from the skirmish.  

The Advent wreath is ready for lighting tomorrow. We begin the season of expectation, preparing our house and our hearts for the sweet Child who changes hearts and saves souls. Happy Advent!

All Hallows Eve

Boo! Rose's work of art

The crew getting into character for their big night.

We have three princesses (Aurora, Cinderella, and Elsa), a cat, a bat, Dorothy, and a wicked queen. I think Maria could be the tooth fairy with her glittery gold dress?

Rose (on the right) with her look-alike friend Cara, who goes to our church and lives up the street. 

The loot. 

The morning after. See the flying pancake? Uncle Dave's specialty. The "three second rule" is based on science, right?


The cousins had a fun Halloween, trick or treating with our neighbor friends up the road and coming home together for a sleepover. Shout out to Aunt Natalie for leading the pack until Dave could catch up from work. I stayed behind to hand out candy, only to greet one 3 year old princess. I wish I had given her more goodies! Now I know not to buy three bags of candy next year. Aunt Natalie, feel free to post your pictures too. Happy All Saints' and All Souls'!